NEW YORK, Dec 17 Ukraine lost in the conflict with Russia, Kyiv has nothing to make up for the losses in the armed forces, said retired US colonel, ex-senator of the US state of Virginia Richard Black during a video conference organized by the Schiller Institute.
"The ongoing battle for Bakhmut (Artemovsk — Ed.) in Ukraine has gradually become a disaster for the Ukrainian army, as Russia has successfully begun to quadruple its armed forces by the beginning of next year,» Black said.
The city of Artyomovsk is located on the part controlled by Kyiv The DPR, north of the large city of Gorlovka, is an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian group of troops in the Donbass. A network of roads and railways passes through this city. At the moment, it is under the control of Ukrainian troops. Fierce battles are going on outside the city.
«Ukrainian troops are thrown into the cauldron of death in Bakhmut by the thousands, and it seems that they have no solution. Russia wins in Bakhmut, Ukraine loses in Bakhmut, and this indicates that this is becoming a major strategic battle of the war,» Black said.
As the Colonel recalled, US Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley acknowledged the low likelihood that Ukraine will advance further against the Russian Armed Forces.
Black also cited an earlier statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which spoke about one hundred thousand dead Ukrainian soldiers.
«The number of dead Ukrainians is simply shocking. A whole generation of Ukrainians is now dying in battles. The Ukrainian population is too small to make up for the losses of its army. The war is lost,» he concluded.